smoking box
Patent Information
- Application Number
- DE202024106667
- Authority / Receiving Office
- DE · DE
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-11-19
- Publication Date
- 2025-02-20
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-11-30
Smart Images
Figure 00000000_0000_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a smoking box for cold or hot smoking food, for example salmon. The smoking box extends in the longitudinal, width, and height directions, which are arranged perpendicular to one another, and comprises at least a body, a lid, a smoke generating device, and a grate system, wherein the grate system comprises at least two grates, as well as a holder for holding the grates. The holder comprises at least a lower part and two side walls, wherein the lower part extends in the longitudinal and width directions and the side walls extend in the longitudinal and height directions, are arranged parallel to one another, and each have two guide tracks, which comprise vertical guides in the height direction and lateral guides in the longitudinal direction.The grates extend in the longitudinal and width directions and have at least two support struts in the width direction, which are movable in the longitudinal and vertical directions in the guideways of the side walls of the holder. The side guides of the grates have at least one first stop and a second stop in the longitudinal direction, which are located on either side of the vertical guides in the longitudinal direction. The grates are arranged vertically one above the other and alternately in the first stop and second stop in the longitudinal direction in the side guides of the holder.
[0002] Smoking is a process for preserving and flavoring food. The water content of the smoked product is reduced, which slows down the spoilage process. Furthermore, substances penetrate the meat during smoking that further kill bacteria, yeast, and mold.
[0003] Smoking involves exposing food to smoke over a period of time. This can be done in a variety of ways. Often, special molds, called "sparfeuern," are used. These are filled with smoking chips and then placed in a smoker along with the food. To begin the actual smoking process, the smoking chips are lit and allowed to smolder. This smoldering causes the smoking chips to slowly burn. This creates the smoke needed to smoke the food.
[0004] If the food remains cold, this process is also called cold smoking. Smoking temperatures are close to ambient temperature.
[0005] If the food is heated in addition to being smoked, this is called hot smoking. Smoking temperatures are in the range above 60 °C.
[0006] Hot smoking generally requires a special smoker, which, in addition to the smoking wood chips holder, also has an additional heat source. However, such special smokers are expensive to purchase and often large, making them immobile.
[0007] Thus, the current state of the art features various types of smoking devices, some of which are expensive to purchase and often large and therefore not mobile. Some of the smoking devices must be placed in an oven or on a grill, which serves as a heat source; the smoking devices only produce smoke. Space-saving cold and / or hot smoking is not possible with current smoking devices.
[0008] This results in the need for a smoking device that is mobile and allows both cold and hot smoking, can hold as much smoked goods as possible and is cost-effective to produce.
[0009] This object is achieved by a smoking box for cold or hot smoking of food, for example salmon. The smoking box extends in the longitudinal, width and height directions, which are arranged perpendicular to one another, and comprises at least a body, a lid, a smoke generating device, and a grate system, wherein the grate system comprises at least two grates, as well as a holder for holding the grates. The holder comprises at least a lower part and two side walls, wherein the lower part extends in the longitudinal and width directions and the side walls extend in the longitudinal and height directions, are arranged parallel to one another, and each have two guide tracks, which comprise vertical guides in the height direction and lateral guides in the longitudinal direction.The grates extend in the longitudinal and width directions and have at least two support struts in the width direction, which are movable in the longitudinal and vertical directions in the guideways of the side walls of the holder. The side guides of the grates have at least one first stop and a second stop in the longitudinal direction, which are located on either side of the vertical guides in the longitudinal direction. The grates are arranged vertically one above the other and alternately in the first stop and second stop in the longitudinal direction in the side guides of the holder.
[0010] The smoker box has a body that is closed with the lid during smoking. Inside is a smoke generator, which is preferably placed on a short side of the smoker box to create the greatest possible space for the grate system. The grate system, which consists of at least two grates and the grate holder, is placed in the remaining space.
[0011] The guideways of the holder are designed as vertical guides and lateral guides, which allow the gratings to be placed at different heights and at the respective heights with a different lateral offset to the gratings located below or above.
[0012] The longitudinal offset of the racks is limited by the longitudinal stops on both sides. The racks, which are inserted vertically one above the other through the guides in the holder, can be arranged alternately from rack to rack in the first and second stops. Especially with fish fillets, whose thickness decreases significantly from the head to the tail end, a particularly space-saving setup can be achieved by alternating the fish fillets and the racks in stops one and two, ensuring a nearly even spacing between fish fillets on the vertically stacked racks.
[0013] The thick end of the item being smoked, for example, the head end of a fish fillet, should point in the same direction as the grate stop, relative to the length of the box. If the grate is positioned at the first stop, it is advantageous if the thick end of the item being smoked also points in this direction along the length of the box. If the grate is positioned at the second stop, it is advantageous if the thick end of the item being smoked also points in the direction of the second stop, relative to the vertical guide.
[0014] If the grates are mounted vertically one above the other in the holder and the offset of the grates is positioned alternately in the longitudinal direction from stop one to stop two and the smoked goods are positioned accordingly, the smoked goods are placed as evenly as possible in the smoking box and the distance between them is as even as possible so that the smoke can evenly surround the smoked goods.
[0015] The side walls of the holder are arranged parallel to each other; in further preferred embodiments, they can also have an angle of 6°, preferably 4°, particularly preferably 2° to each other in order to ensure exact lateral guidance of the grates in the guideways.
[0016] For hot smoking, the smoker box can be positioned over a heat source, which heats the smoker box accordingly. The heat from the heat source can be provided by burning wood, coal, gas, or other fuels, as well as by resistance heating plates or similar devices. It is also conceivable to place the smoker box in a larger, oven-like heating chamber, but this requires adequate ventilation to remove smoke from the heating chamber.
[0017] It is also possible that the smoke generating device contains a sufficiently large heat source to heat the smoking box to the desired temperature for hot smoking.
[0018] According to a further preferred embodiment, the body of the smoking box has at least one air supply opening on at least one side wall of the box and an air-permeable cover for each air supply opening, wherein the air supply opening can be covered with the cover.
[0019] The cover is permeable to air at least partially, but preferably across its entire surface. The cover is preferably made of perforated metal and / or fabric. The air intake allows the smoke intensity to be influenced. The fresh air supply into the box can be used to regulate the smoldering. If there is a risk of oxygen deficiency and thus sooty combustion, the cover can be opened and the air or oxygen supply to the smoker box can be increased. The air permeability of the cover ensures a constant supply of fresh air.
[0020] The air supply opening can also be used to ignite the smoke generating device when the cover is open.
[0021] According to a further preferred embodiment, the cover of the smoking box can be moved in a sliding guide to close the air supply opening.
[0022] This ensures easy opening of the air intake opening by sliding the cover along the sliding guide. Depending on the design, this is possible horizontally or vertically. Another design allows for locking the cover in the closed and / or open position of the air intake opening.
[0023] According to a further preferred embodiment, the cover of the smoking box is arranged to be rotatable about an axis by means of at least one hinge in order to close the air supply opening.
[0024] The hinge can be arranged so that the cover can be opened horizontally or vertically. It is also possible to lock the cover in the closed and / or open position of the air intake opening.
[0025] According to a further preferred embodiment, the smoke generating device of the smoking device is arranged next to the grate system.
[0026] Preferably, the smoke generation device is arranged longitudinally next to the grate system. This allows for a space-saving arrangement of the smoke generation device and the holder with grates in the smoking box. Likewise, the distance to the side walls can be chosen to be uniform, allowing for the most even smoke flow possible. In principle, however, any arrangement of the smoke generation device and grate system is conceivable. In another embodiment, it would also be conceivable to arrange the smoke generation device outside the smoking box with at least one supply line to it, and to introduce the smoke into the smoking box with the grate system via the supply line.
[0027] According to a further preferred embodiment, two smoke generating devices are arranged on either side of the grate system.
[0028] For a large amount of smoked goods, two smoke generators located on either side of the grate system can generate a sufficient amount of smoke to distribute the required amount of smoke as evenly as possible around the goods. It would be conceivable to arrange the two smoke generators lengthwise on either side of the grate system, or widthwise on either side of the grate system. Here, too, it would be conceivable to arrange the smoke generators outside the smoking box with one or two or more supply lines leading to it, with the smoke then being fed into the smoking box via at least one supply line.
[0029] According to a further preferred embodiment, the smoking box contains a drip tray and this is arranged above the lower part of the holder.
[0030] At least one smoke generating device is also positioned above the drip tray.
[0031] During hot smoking, liquid may leak from the food being smoked. This is collected in the drip tray. This keeps the smoking box and the base of the holder clean. The drip tray can be cleaned and reused after smoking.
[0032] Since no juice usually escapes from the food being smoked during cold smoking, the smoking box can be used without the drip tray, especially during cold smoking.
[0033] According to a further preferred embodiment, the side guides of the smoking box have an angle of 10°, preferably 7°, particularly preferably 4° to the horizontal, wherein the side guides slope down towards the stops.
[0034] This makes it easier for the smoker box user to position the grates in the stops of the holder. This ensures the previously described advantage of space-saving placement of the smoked food in the smoker box.
[0035] According to a further preferred embodiment, the side guides in the first stop and in the second stop have a groove running in the vertical direction.
[0036] This ensures that the grates remain in this final position and cannot slip horizontally if the smoker box is moved.
[0037] According to a further preferred embodiment, at least one exhaust air opening is attached to the short side wall of the smoking box.
[0038] The exhaust vent allows the smoke generated by the smoke generator to escape at a defined rate after it has spread through the smoking box and smoked the food. The exhaust vents can be used to control the amount of smoke reaching the food.
[0039] According to a further preferred embodiment, the short side wall is lower in height than the long side wall, whereby an exhaust air opening is formed between the lid and at least one short side wall when the lid is closed.
[0040] The exhaust air opening on the short side wall is created by the combination of the body and lid. The shorter side walls of the body are lower than the long side walls. The height difference between the short and long side walls is less than or equal to 10 mm, preferably less than or equal to 5 mm, and particularly preferably less than or equal to 2.5 mm.
[0041] According to a further preferred embodiment of the smoking box, the body comprises a magnet to which the lid (12) can be attached.
[0042] When installing the smoke box, holder, and / or grates, the lid must be removed from the body. Using a magnet, the lid can then be attached to one of the sides of the body, provided both parts are made of magnetic material, such as steel, and / or magnetic parts are attached to the lid and / or body. This allows the lid to be attached to the body in a space-saving manner, increasing the usable surface area on the smoke box's storage surface.
[0043] According to a further preferred embodiment of the smoking box, at least one food holder can be attached to at least one grate by means of clamps.
[0044] The food holder can have different shapes. Preferably, the food holder forms a convex support for smoked goods in the vertical direction.
[0045] If multiple food holders are used on a single grill, the vertically convex supports are positioned so that they form an interrupted convex support for the smoked food along the length of the smoker box. Using one or more food holders with a convex support, whole fish, for example, can be smoked horizontally in the smoker box.
[0046] According to a further preferred embodiment of the smoking box, the distance between the grates in the height direction is between 10 mm and 60 mm, preferably between 20 mm and 50 mm, particularly preferably between 25 mm and 35 mm.
[0047] The distance should be as small as possible to accommodate as much smoked food as possible in a smoking box. However, the distance should be large enough to allow sufficient smoke to circulate around the food. This distance is the best possible compromise.
[0048] The grates can be designed in various ways. The support surface for the smoked food can consist of struts running transversely or parallel to the longitudinal direction.
[0049] Likewise, struts that run diagonally to the longitudinal direction can be used, intersecting to create a diamond-shaped support. All of these gratings feature support struts that run transversely to the longitudinal axis and can be guided into the guideways of the bracket. Fig. 1: Illustration of a holder for a smoking box Fig. 2 a: Illustration of a smoking box Fig. 2 b: Illustration of a smoking box Fig. 3: Illustration of a grate system with holder with grate Fig. 4 a: Illustration of a grate system with holder and four grates Fig. 4 b: Illustration of a grate system with holder and two grates Fig. 5: Top view of an opened smoking box Fig. 6: Illustration of a grill with food holder
[0050] Fig. Figure 1 shows an example of a holder 7 for a smoker box 1. The holder 7 consists of a lower part 6, which extends in the longitudinal direction (LR) and the width direction (BR), and two parallel side walls 5, which extend in the vertical direction (HR) and the width direction (BR). Each side wall 5 has two guide tracks 2, which extend as vertical guides 3 in the vertical direction (HR) and as lateral guides 4 in the longitudinal direction (LR). The vertical guides 3 intersect the lateral guides 4 centrally.
[0051] For better insertion of the grate 17, or for identification of the respective side guide 4, the side guides 4 are partially provided with recesses 33 in the area in which they intersect the vertical guides.
[0052] Fig. 2 a shows an example of a smoking box 1, at least consisting of a lid 12 and a body 23. A handle 13 is arranged centrally on the lid 12 in the longitudinal direction LR and width direction BR, which handle serves to lift the lid 12 from the body 23.
[0053] The body 23 has a magnet 16 on a long side wall 27, to which, for example, the lid 12 can be attached when it is not placed on the body 23.
[0054] The body also has air intake openings 9. These can be located on either the short side wall 26 or the long side wall 27. The air intake openings 9 can be manufactured with or without a cover 11. For example, the exhaust air opening 9 on the short side wall 26 is manufactured without a cover 11. On the long side wall 27, two air intake openings 9 are manufactured, each with a cover 11.
[0055] For example, the air intake openings 9 on the long side wall 27 can be closed by means of a cover 11, which can be moved vertically in a sliding guide 10. To facilitate manual movement of the cover 11, a handle 32 is attached to the cover.
[0056] The short side walls 26 are shorter in their vertical direction HR than the long side walls 27. As a result, the upper edge of the body 23 is not flush with the lid 12. The rectangular free areas created on the body 23 when the lid 12 is closed form the exhaust air openings 8. The smoke generating device 22 can be inserted and removed through the air supply openings 9. Ignition of the smoke generating device 22 is also possible through the air supply openings 9.
[0057] Fig. Figure 2b shows an example of a smoking box 1 consisting at least of a lid 13 and a body 23. A handle 13 is arranged centrally in the longitudinal direction LR and width direction BR, which serves to lift the lid 12 from the body 23. The body also has air inlet openings 9. These can be located on both the short side wall 26 and the long side wall 27. The air inlet openings 9 can be manufactured with or without a cover 11. For example, the exhaust air opening 9 on the short side wall is manufactured without a cover 11.
[0058] The air intake openings 9 on the long side wall 27 can be closed by means of covers 11. For this purpose, the covers 11 are attached to hinges 14, which are rotatable about an axis extending in the longitudinal direction LR. The covers 11 can be held in the open or closed state of the air intake opening by means of holders 15.
[0059] Fig. Figure 3 shows, by way of example, a grate system 24 with a holder 7 and a grate 17. The holder 7 consists of a lower part 6 extending in the longitudinal direction LR and width direction BR, and two parallel side walls 5 extending in the vertical direction HR and width direction BR. Each side wall 5 has two guideways 2 extending as vertical guides 3 in the vertical direction HR and as lateral guides 4 in the longitudinal direction LR. The vertical guides 3 intersect the lateral guides 4 centrally.
[0060] The grate 17 consists, for example, of cross struts 19 arranged at right angles to longitudinal struts 18. Two support struts 20, which are thicker than the cross struts 19 and the longitudinal struts 18, are arranged parallel to the cross struts 19. The support struts 20 are mounted at the same distance from each other as the vertical guides 3 in the holder 7, so that these support struts 20 can be pushed through the guide tracks 3 and into the stops 29 and 30. The support struts 20 are also mounted on the grate 17 symmetrically to its center in the longitudinal direction LR.
[0061] The grate 17 is pushed into the first stop 29 in the holder 7 on the lowest side guide 4
[0062] Fig. 4 a shows, by way of example, a grate system 24 with holder 7 and four grates 17 for a smoking box 1. Four grates 17 are mounted in the holder 7; the grates 17 are identical in construction and consist of cross struts 19 arranged at right angles to longitudinal struts 18. Two support struts 20, which are thicker than the cross struts 19 and the longitudinal struts 18, are arranged parallel to the cross struts 19. The support struts 20 are mounted at the same distance from one another as the vertical guides 3 in the holder 7, so that these support struts 20 can be pushed through the guide tracks 3 and into the stops 29 and 30. The support struts 20 are also mounted on the grate 17 symmetrically to its center in the longitudinal direction LR.
[0063] The holder has four side guides 4 in the longitudinal direction LR, although this number is only exemplary. The four grates 17 are alternately pushed into the first stop 29 and the second stop 30 in the holder 7. Thus, the grates 17 are offset from one another in the longitudinal direction, at least over part of their length. The grates can be pushed into the stops 29 and 30 via the guide tracks.
[0064] Fig. 4 b shows, by way of example, a grate system 24 with holder 7 and two grates 17 for a smoking box 1. The grates 17 are of identical construction and consist of cross struts 19 arranged at right angles to longitudinal struts 18. Two support struts 20, which are thicker than the cross struts 19 and the longitudinal struts 18, are arranged parallel to the cross struts 19. The support struts 20 are mounted at the same distance from one another as the vertical guides 3 in the holder 7, so that the support struts 20 can be pushed through the guide tracks 3 and into the stops 29 and 30. The support struts 20 are also mounted on the grate 17 symmetrically to its center in the longitudinal direction LR.
[0065] One grate 17 is positioned in the guideway 2 of the lowest level of the vertical guides 3 in the first stop 29. The second grate 17 is located in the guideway 2 of the highest level of the vertical guides 3 in the second stop 30. As a result, the grates 17 are arranged at least partially offset in the longitudinal direction.
[0066] Fig. 5 shows an example of a top view of an open smoking box 1. The smoking box 1 contains the holder 7 with a grate 17, the drip tray 21, and the smoke generating device 22. The smoke generating device 22 is arranged longitudinally next to the holder 7 with a grate 17. The drip tray 21 is arranged centrally on the lower part 6 of the holder 7 so that fat or liquid dripping from the food to be smoked is collected in the drip tray 21. The distance from the grate 17 to the side walls 26 and 27 is such that the food to be smoked is surrounded by sufficient smoke and does not touch the walls. The grate 17 does not protrude over the smoke generating device 22. A distance between the grate 17 and the smoke generating device 22 is advantageous so that the food to be smoked is evenly surrounded by the smoke and no individual spots are exposed to more smoke than others.
[0067] Fig.Figure 6 shows an example of a grate 17 with food holders 31. The food holders 31 can be attached to the grate 17 using clamps 28. The clamps have a concave shape in the vertical direction HR into which the smoked goods can be placed. The number of food holders 31 can be varied depending on the size and / or weight of the smoked goods, as can the spacing of the food holders 31 from one another. The clamps 28 are clamped to the longitudinal struts 18, thus providing a detachable, force-locking connection. List of reference symbols 1 smoking box 2 guideways 3 Vertical guide 4 side guides 5 Side wall 6 Lower part 7 holders 8 Exhaust air opening 9 Supply air opening 10 Sliding guide 11 Cover 12 lids 13 Handle 14 Hinge 15 holders 16 Magnet 17 Rust 18 Longitudinal strut 19 Cross brace 20 support strut 21 Drip tray 22 Smoke generating device 23 Corpus 24 Grate system 25 side wall box 26 Short Side Wall Box 27 Long Side Wall Box 28 bracket 29 First attack 30 Second attack 31 food holders 32 Grab handle 33 recess LR longitudinal direction BR latitude direction HR Altitude direction
Claims
[1] Smoking box (1) for cold or hot smoking of food, for example salmon, which extends in the longitudinal (LR), width (BR) and height (HR) directions arranged perpendicular to each other, at least comprising a body (23), a lid (12) and at least one smoke generating device (22) and a grate system (24), wherein the grate system (24) comprises at least two grates (17) and a holder (7) for holding the grates (17), wherein the holder (7) comprises at least one lower part (6) and two side walls (5), wherein the lower part (6) extends in the longitudinal direction (LR) and width direction (BR) and the side walls (5) extend in the longitudinal direction (LR) and height direction (HR), are arranged parallel to one another and each have two guideways (2) which comprise vertical guides (3) in the height direction (HR) and lateral guides (4) in the longitudinal direction (LR), wherein the gratings (17) extend in the longitudinal direction (LR) and width direction (BR) and have at least two support struts (20) in the width direction (BR), which are displaceable in the guide tracks (2) of the side walls (5) of the holder (7) in the longitudinal direction (LR) and height direction (HR), characterized by , that the lateral guides (4) of the gratings (17) have at least one first stop (29) and one second stop (30) in the longitudinal direction (LR), which are located on both sides of the vertical guides (3) in the longitudinal direction (LR), wherein the grids (17) are arranged one above the other in the vertical direction (HR) and in the longitudinal direction (LR) in the lateral guides (4) of the holder (7) alternately in the first stop (29) and second stop (30). [2] Smoking box (1) according to claim 1, characterized bythat the body (23) has at least one air supply opening (9) on at least one side wall (25) of the box (5) and a cover (11) for each air-permeable air supply opening (9), wherein the air supply opening (9) can be covered with the cover (11). [3] Smoking box (1) according to claim 2, characterized by that the cover (11) for closing the supply air opening (9) can be moved in a sliding guide (10). [4] Smoking box (1) according to claim 2, characterized by that the cover (11) for closing the supply air opening (9) is arranged to be rotatable about an axis by means of at least one hinge (10). [5] Smoking box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that a smoke generating device (22) is arranged next to the grate system (24). [6] Smoking box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that two smoke generating devices (22) are arranged on both sides of the grate system (24). [7] Smoking box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the smoking box (1) contains a drip tray (21) and this is arranged above the lower part (6) of the holder (7). [8] Smoking box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the side guides (4) have an angle of 10°, preferably 7°, particularly preferably 4° to the horizontal, wherein the side guides (4) slope down towards the stops (29) and (30). [9] Smoking box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the side guides (4) in the first stop (29) and in the second stop (30) have a groove running in the height direction (HR). [10] Smoking box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that at least one exhaust air opening (8) is attached to the short side wall (26) of the smoking box (1). [11] Smoking box (1) according to claim 9, characterized bythat the short side wall (26) is lower in the height direction (HR) than the long side wall (27), whereby an exhaust air opening (8) is formed between the cover (12) and at least one short side wall (27) when the cover (12) is closed. [12] Smoking box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the body (23) comprises a magnet to which the lid (12) can be fastened. [13] Smoking box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that at least one food holder (31) can be attached to at least one grate (17) by means of clamps (28). [14] Smoking box (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the distance between the grates (17) in the height direction (HR) is between 60 mm and 10 mm, preferably between 50 mm and 20 mm, particularly preferably between 25 mm and 35 mm.